meaning - What does 'fast friends' mean?


Does anyone have an idea? Close friends? I usually see this term in stories where the friends were best friends and then they fight for some reason.



Answer



From Merriam-Webster:



fast
[...]
2 : firmly loyal fast friends>



From Wiktionary:



Of people: steadfast, with unwavering feeling. (Now only in set phrases like "fast friend".) [from 10th c.]



Etymonline provides some background:



O.E. fæst "firmly fixed, steadfast, secure, enclosed," probably from P.Gmc. *fastuz (cf. O.Fris. fest, O.N. fastr, Du. vast, Ger. fest)



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